Sir William Hutt, KCB, PC (6 October 1801 – 24 November 1882) was a British Liberal politician who was heavily involved in the colonisation of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

and South Australia.

Background and education

Hutt was born in Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire. He was the brother of Sir George Hutt and John Hutt, the second governor of Western Australia. He was educated privately at

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came a ...

, Isle of Wight, and Camberwell, and graduated BA (1827) and MA (1831) from

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

Political career

Hutt entered

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

as MP for

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from ...

in 1832, holding the seat until 1837, when

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually bec ...

defeated him. He regained it in 1838 when Wilberforce was unseated on petition. He had an interest in colonial affairs, and became increasingly involved in them. He served as a member of the select committee on colonial lands in 1836; as a commissioner for the foundation of South Australia; as a member of the New Zealand Association from 1837; and as a member of the select committee on New Zealand in 1840. He also helped form (1839) the re-incarnated

New Zealand Company The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model focused on the systematic colonisation of New Zealand. The company was formed to carry out the principl ...

, of which he later became a director and chairman. After he ceased to be MP for Hull in 1841, he successfully stood for the seat of Gateshead, a seat that he retained for over 30 years. He served as Vice-President of the Board of Trade and Paymaster-General under

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...

between 1860 and 1865 and under Lord Russell in 1865 and was sworn of the Privy Council in 1860. In 1865 he became a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

Personal life

In 1831 Hutt married Mary (née Millner), Dowager Countess of Strathmore, widow of John Bowes, 10th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, to whose son John Bowes Hutt had been a tutor. She died in 1860, leaving him mining properties worth £18,000 a year. The following year he married Frances Anna Jane "Fanny" Stanhope, a daughter of the Hon. Sir Francis Charles Stanhope. The couple had a London home in

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was developed for fashionable ...

. Hutt died at Appley Towers, Ryde, on 24 November 1882, aged 81, leaving his landed property to his brother, Sir George Hutt. Frances, Lady Hutt, died in September 1886.

Eponymous geography

Hutt is commemorated in the name of the Hutt River in the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-larges ...

of New Zealand and the cities of

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It is New Zealand's sixth most ...

and

Upper Hutt Upper Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. Geography The Upper Hutt city cent ...

, which stand on its banks. The

Hutt River, South Australia The Hutt River (Kaurna language, Kaurna: ''Parriworta'') is a river located in the Mid North and Clare Valley regions of the Australian state of South Australia. Course and features The river rises near Sevenhill and flows generally in a northe ...

and the Hutt River and Hutt Lagoon in Western Australia were also named in his honour.

Hutt Street, Adelaide Hutt Street is the easternmost of the five major north–south roads running through the City of Adelaide. It runs from Pirie Street to South Terrace, from where it continues south as Hutt Road. Flanked by leafy side streets with many late 1 ...

in South Australia carries his name. The Bowes River in Western Australia was named after his wife Mary.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutt, William 1801 births 1882 deaths Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 People from Bishop's Stortford